Cloud watching

Here’s one technology that Canadian small businesses are adapting to faster than their U.S. counterparts

It’s a long-held truism that Canadians are generally slower to adopt new technologies than their American counterparts, but cloud computing might be an exception. The unfortunately named cloud — essentially, any off-site hub that houses software applications and data that can be accessed by a customer from just about anywhere, anytime — is already being used by 46% of Canadian small businesses, according to a survey done by Leger, while a similar survey down south by Intuit showed that 37% of U.S. small businesses were adapting to it.

Most of the small businesses that use the cloud for at least one application started within the past two years, and 94% reported at least one benefit and 86% have noticed improved business processes. But even though almost any kind of software can be hosted in the cloud, from email and telephony to accounting and sales management, more than half of Canadian small businesses haven’t made the move. One explanation is a lack of familiarity.

“They are entrepreneurs and they are super busy,” says Brad Fisher, senior vice-president of marketing and product at Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc., which offers cloud-hosted telephony and commissioned the Leger survey. “Some of this is fast-paced change, so there is a knowledge gap and a lack of resources for small-business owners and their IT person to reach out to keep up with these latest technologies as it relates to their business and their industry.”

But, as Fisher points out, moving to the cloud takes some of the burden and cost of maintaining technology away since it’s usually a payas-you-go service and vendors are responsible for maintaining the latest versions of their software. That frees up entrepreneurs and their employees to concentrate on revenue-generating tasks. To come to that realization, however, takes some research, whether that’s online or talking with fellow entrepreneurs, and then meeting individually with the software vendors since there aren’t the kind of aggregators and systems integrators that are seen in the traditional office equipment market. Fisher says that suits small business owners anyway, since “it’s kind of atypical for a small business to go from zero to 60 and put all their services into the cloud at once. They are more often likely to edge their way in.”

One of the biggest concerns, of course, is data security. The survey found about 35% of small-business owners worry about data security and privacy, but, again, the cloud can trump internal systems, which must be constantly maintained and updated. Security, like most technologies, is more often aimed at higher-end customers who can afford the best. “Only 30% of small businesses felt they were getting the same level of service from IT vendors and large telecoms as a large business would receive,” Fisher says, adding the cloud addresses that gap, real or otherwise.

But it won’t be long before most small businesses recognize the benefits. According to the survey, 83% of those dabbling in the cloud will move more of their systems into it in the next five years, while 51% of non-users indicated an intent to move in the next five years. That matches the expected pace of adoption by U.S. companies, which Intuit pegged at 78% by 2020.